


Family

by thedollopheadofCamelot



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man - All Media Types
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cussing, Dialogue, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Family Fluff, Father Figure, Father Figures, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Fluff and Mush, Found Family, Gen, Happy Ending, Happy Tony Stark, Heart-to-Heart, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, Injured Peter Parker, IronDad and SpiderSon, Irondad, Italics, Mushy, Nicknames, Nicknames As Endearment, Not Avengers: Endgame (Movie) Compliant, Not Avengers: Infinity War Part 1 (Movie) Compliant, Not Spider-Man: Far From Home Compliant, Other, Parent Tony, Parent Tony Stark, Peter Parker Angst, Peter Parker Calls Tony Stark "Dad" Accidentally, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Loves Tony Stark, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Platonic Love, Platonic Relationships, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Protectiveness, Tony Stark And His Nicknaming, Tony Stark Feels, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Loves Peter Parker, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Worried Tony Stark, heart-to-heart conversation, peter parker is a good kid, some cussing, spiderson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-11
Updated: 2020-07-11
Packaged: 2021-03-05 06:15:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,203
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25159843
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thedollopheadofCamelot/pseuds/thedollopheadofCamelot
Summary: In which Tony and Peter have a few heart-to-hearts.-Tony wants Peter to call him when he gets injured.-Peter needs reassurances that Tony didn't realize he needed to give.
Relationships: Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Comments: 17
Kudos: 143





	Family

“Is there something you want to tell me,” Tony demands rather than asking, crossing his arms and standing rigid like a statue.

Peter freezes and Tony can practically see him trying to figure out what he means like he’s trying to solve a complicated math problem. 

“Maybe this will jog your memory. Major injuries. Crazy villain. Ringing any bells?” Tony says sharp and quick. Peter opens his mouth and Tony cuts him off. “ _No_. No, I had to hear it from Karen. Saw the video footage of you stitching up your own leg.Horrifying by the way. Nearly gave me a heart attack.” Tony sucks in an abrupt breath, trying his damnedest not to relive the pain in his chest or the panic he felt as he watched Peter whimpering and trying not to scream as he worked on his leg. He suppresses a sob when the kid steps a little closer and  _limps_.  **_Jesus_**. 

“Mr. Star-“

“What the hell were you thinking?” Tony bites out and then sniffs and swipes at his nose as if to disguise the sound.

Peter has the audacity to look like a kicked puppy and it makes Tony want to throw something because it isn’t fair. 

“I...I didn’t want to bother you.”

“Bother me?! This is exactly the kind of thing you need to bother me about!”

Peter flinches at the volume and that only makes Tony feel worse. He wants to make sure the kid’s alright, but he also needs to ensure that he stops thinking he should do it all alone. 

Tony sighs, softening a bit. “Pete, Kiddo, you should have called me. You needed proper medical treatment. I don’t understand you sometimes.”

“I didn’t want you to think that I couldn’t handle it, Mr. Stark. I’m not some weak kid who always needs saving. I figured it out on my own just fine, okay?”

Tony’s chest squeezes tight. " _Pete,_ that’s not okay.” And his eyes sting with the weight of that. _This kid._ He hates that Peter doesn’t come to him. He wishes he could protect him, but Peter seems determined not to allow it too much. He just wants him to be safe. “You have to let people help you. No one will see you as weak. Or any less than the hero you are-“

“You don’t always let people help you.”

“That’s different.”

“How?” He asks defiantly. 

Tony swats his hand in Peter’s direction as a deflection. He tries not to frown too much as he thinks about the way that Peter's noticed how rarely he lets people help him. Maybe it’s that Tony doesn’t expect people to care when he gets injured unless it becomes their problem. Tony’s known for a while that people only start to care when they need to use him for something. Maybe there are a few exceptions to that. Rare as they are. But after so many betrayals and ages of bad luck, Tony’s trust has become nearly unattainable now. Every year that rolls by, he coils more into doubt and suspicion than before. He’s let Peter get too close too fast and he can feel the slight stirring of uneasiness inside at that. He's scared to screw up one of the few good relationships he has. Maybe he doesn’t let people help him often because he’s forgotten how. Relinquishing his control to someone else makes him feel powerless and worst of all, unsafe and trapped.

But this is something he has to do to protect his kid. Tony's taken him on as his responsibility. When Peter gets hurt, it's his fault. And he cares about Peter too much to let things like this keep happening. He sets his jaw. “No more web slinging this week and that leg needs looked at.”

“But Mr. Stark-“

“Don’t Mr. Stark me. I’m the adult here because one of us has to be." He pauses and then adds softer, "Just trying to look out for you, Kid.”

Tony watches Peter’s eyes go glassy and it breaks his heart to see. This is the last thing he wants. He’s not sure what to do next or what to say. He doesn’t want to upset Peter any further. He hates upsetting him. He doesn't know how to make it okay between them. He feels out of his depth. 

Peter opens his mouth and then closes it. And then he hangs his head, his face scrunching up for a moment before he looks back at Tony and his voice cracks on, “You gave me Happy’s number.”

Tony gets whiplash from the confusion that sudden statement brings. “Okay, now you’ve lost me-“

“Like you didn’t want me to call you before. You only saw me because I’m Spiderman. You didn’t want to deal with me. I know you care about me now- I mean, I think you do- I hope you do- but I just can't stop thinking that some day you'll abandon me. That if I'm not good enough you'll leave and I'll lose you and-”

Tony places his hands on Peter’s shoulders, his own eyes burning as they well with tears. He regrets how he handled everything with Peter back then so much. Hates that Peter's been thinking this way this whole time. It hurts. He feels horrible. He hates himself for this. He-

“ _Kiddo_ , no. _No_. I handled it all wrong when we met. I should have been more involved and I should have listened to you more. I let you down, Pete... I know that you’re smart and capable. I kept my distance knowing you were already good at what you do. I've known the whole time that you’re an independent squirt and I believe in you, Spiderling. Hell, I believe in you more than anyone out there." Tony swipes his thumbs back and forth over Peter's shoulders, heart hammering in his chest, unused to being so honest. He takes a deep breath.  "I do care, Bud. I care about you and I will never leave you. Cross my heart, Kid.  I just don’t like seeing you get hurt. So do me a favor and call next time. Call every time. I'll get you patched up lickety-split. You have my number now and I want you to use it."

Peter evades his gaze. “I- I can’t, Mr. Stark. I can't just call you. You’re so busy. What if you’re in a meeting or on a mission or working in the lab or asleep or- or something?”

“I’ll answer,” Tony responds without hesitation. 

But Peter’s eyebrows remain furrowed.

“Listen, little Webhead. Your well-being is more important to me than anything. For god’s sakes Kid, you can call me even if you just want to talk about Star Wars."

“Really?" He asks, hopeful. 

“Don’t you know by now that I love being around you? I wouldn’t invite you here every week if I didn’t."

Peter lights up at that and Tony ruffles his hair as a wave of fondness races through him for the kid. 

“And I will never see you as weak for needing help. You don’t need to convince me of how strong you are. I already know."

Peter nods, his eyes misting over again. “I’m sorry,” He says. “I’m sorry. I should have called. I just...I just wanted to make you proud, Dad.”

Tony’s heart gives a wild jolt. His mouth falls open. “Did you just-?”

Peter starts backing away and Tony only has a second to grab him before he can stumble out of his reach. His fingers barely manage to catch on Peter’s sleeve, but it’s enough to make him stop and turn around. 

“Kid?” Tony’s hands shake as he tries to process Peter calling him 'Dad.'  He shakes, realizing that he hopes that he didn't just imagine it, that Peter really did just call him that. He's holding his breath like he's never wanted anything more in his life. He's been calling Peter his kid in his head for a long time. He never expected Peter would ever feel the same way. It's just that Tony loves picking him up from school, teaching him, spending time with him, and caring for him. And May had once joked that they were co-parenting Peter and it was then that Tony realized that what he felt for Peter could be explained. Maybe even valid. Tony had accepted it. He'd even told Pepper and Rhodey how important Peter is to him. But he's never planned on telling Peter, sure that giving their relationship a name would change it, sure that it would be unwelcome especially since Peter had already had and lost two father figures. He wasn't sure he could fit where two others have. He was content in being Peter's mentor, asking for more from him hadn't felt right to him. He was fine keeping it all unsaid, really...But now he feels the start of hope bubbling in him. 

“I’m sorry, Mr. Stark," Peter rushes to say, his voice cracking a bit. "It's just that Ned- He kept saying that you were sort of acting like a dad to me and then I couldn’t get it out of my head and then/I/wanted/it/to/be/real and now I’m being really stupid. And now you’ll probably never want to see me again because I’m the weird kid who called you 'Dad.'"  Peter hides his face in his hands in mortification, tears falling from his jaw. 

Tony doesn't hesitate in putting his arms around Peter, willing the hug to soothe them both.  He doesn’t say anything; he just holds Peter close until he finally relaxes a bit into the embrace. 

“Mr. Stark?" He asks vulnerably. 

“Wait," Tony mumbles into Peter's hair, squeezing him gently. He tries to soak up the moment and make it last. He can't help the grin that slowly spreads across his face or the way his heart swells because _dammit Peter_. Tony just loves him so much.

And they stay like that for a while.

Tony closes his eyes and sways them slightly back and forth. 

“You’re family to me," Tony tells Peter as he lets his forehead fall against the crook of Peter's neck. "You're one of the few people I can call my home. I already think of you as my kid. And I want to be that close with you as long as it's something you want." 

Peter leans into Tony and he can feel Peter smile against his chest. "Yeah. I'd like that." 

"Good," Tony says in relief and keeps the hug going for a stretch, happy in the moment with Peter in his arms. After a bit he speaks up again, the worry he felt earlier never really going away.  “Whatcha say we talk about this more later, huh, Pete?" He says softly.  “Besides, no Spiderkid of mine is leaving this lab until he gets that leg looked at."

"I'm fine," Peter groans. 

"Ah ah ah, you'll listen to me, Young Padawan."

Peter laughs at the nickname as they slowly separate. He lets Tony take the wheel, seating himself on top of a desk as Tony crouches to roll his pants above his knee to check on the wound. He wraps a hand gently around Peter's uninjured ankle to turn his leg slightly this way and that to get a good look at it. Tony makes a noise of discomfort in the back of his throat. He tries not to think about the video of Peter trying to stitch the leg up himself. He can't go there again. 

"The patch up is rough but not bad, Kid," Tony tells him quietly, his heart aching in his chest. 

"I'm sorry," Peter says anxiously.

"Me too." Tony presses a light kiss to Peter's knee before rolling the cloth back down. "We'll...We'll get better at this," He says, still cradling Peter's leg carefully in his hands. "Right?"

"Yeah," Peter agrees breathy. He watches Tony closely and reaches out to press a hand on Tony's shoulder. "Thanks for looking out for me. And caring."

Tony smiles sadly at him, wistfully wishing him safer and healed. "Anytime, Spider Baby," He says and cocks his head to the side to nuzzle Peter's hand slightly with his cheek. He thinks that things will be better between them now. He thinks that they'll be okay.

"Can I stay here tonight, Mr. Stark," Peter asks with a little hesitation. 

"Hey, what happened to 'Dad?'" Tony fires back, mock offended. Really, he just wants to hear him say it again. 

"I can't call you that all the time! That would be weird!" Peter flushes in embarrassment, but he's smiling and it makes Tony smile too. 

"Alright, alright," Tony concedes and stands to sit down beside his mentee. He knocks into Peter playfully with his side. "Stay as long as you want. Just confirm it with your aunt so I don't get an earful."  


"I will," Peter chirps happily. He experimentally leans closer to Tony and when the man doesn't stop him, he rests his head lightly on his shoulder. "I love you."

"I love you too," Tony whispers emotionally. 

And in that moment they both know that everything is going to be alright. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! It means a lot!


End file.
